Excuse me if this has been covered before, but has anyone ever used cement board for a track bed before? I am finishing up my new patio and I though I might try it. I was thinking of starting with 3-4" of tamped 411 gravel (3/4" to dust) then putting down 1/2" cement board. I would use silicone to glue wood ties to the cement board (Redwood) with tie plates and spikes holding down code 250 aluminum rail. the cement board would have landscape spikes through it also every 2-3'. I'd put some ballast on while the silicone was still tacky so if the top ballast came off it would still hide the cement board. I'm thinking this should be pretty stable and if it did heave some the track would still be in gauge and level.
Any thoughts on this?
According to data on the Wikipedia site, cement board is not absolutely waterproof and may deteriorate over time. Other than that, I have never used it for an outdoor railway roadbed -- I used real concrete to prevent damage from wildlife.
Here's the Wiki information about cement board:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cement_board
There are water-resistant boards, and waterproof boards... wikipedia is not an absolute authority by the way.
The completely waterproof stuff is more expensive...
I use it on my switchyard, untreated... 5 years and no problems... I hose it off to get rid of leaves.
Greg
Visit my site: http://www.elmassian.com - lots of tips on locos, rolling stock and more.
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You are correct Greg, I was looking at the cementboard at Lowe's the other day and was satisfied that it would resist water well enough. What kind of climate are you in? I'm in Central Ohio so I was hoping it would keep the track flat enough to keep operations smooth throught the freeze and thaw cycles that we have here. I'm going to bevel the edges like the Bachmann HO scale EZ track and glue ballast to it. (just enough to hide the cement board.) I think I'll splce sections together by gluing and screwing a piece on the bottom that overlaps a foot on either side of the joints. I have two places where a foot path crosses the track, I was thinking of putting a triple layer of cement board there for support.
Very mild weather here, but many many complete hose offs with water. I have found it wants to be supported every foot, it is in a switchyard about 7 tracks across. Since it is basically cement, in a fiberglas sandwich, and then waterproofed, it has no strength to span long distances unsupported.
Regards, Greg
That's a nice sized yard, I will be lucky if I have room for more than two tracks. I plan on laying the cement board directly on tamped 411 gravel so support shouldn't be an issue.
One interesting thing, I tried just laying the track on the board and then adding ballast... the ballast worked it's way under the track, from cycles of expansion and contraction.
So, either "float" the track on the board with a thin layer of ballast, or you can try gluing the track on the board such that ballast does not work underneath.
Over time, I removed the pieces of board under my turnouts, my ballast was good enough and the track actually "raised" more where the board was...
In the switchyard, the track will be glued or screwed to the board, and much finer ballast used.
Regards Greg
I have it under my buildings, and under my turnouts only. My only problem is don't step on it or even just a corner. It is very brittle even supported entirely by gravel and will snap in pieces depending on where you walk. This is especially true if you have grandkids but I do it too.
Paul
John,
I'm in Northern Ohio and I have started using it for my building bases, basically to keep them from blowing over in our strong winds. Have you looked at the board that Home Depot sells? They sell one that has a grid pattern on the back that is slightly recessed. You can easily score it by following their lines, so there is no need for a strait edge.
I have a friend that lives near here that has some cement board that's been outside for 2-3 years now. His was untreated, where I put on several coats of cement latex paint. He says his has developed hair line cracks, although it's still solid. So I'm not sure if that's terribly bad or not.
So I'm convinced it's worth using, if for nothing else a long term trail.
Regards,
Mark
http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com
M. Gilger - President and Chief Engineer MM&G web
Web Site: http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com/
I found it tricky to keep the level and alignment of the wood road bed though freeze thaw cycles. long peices of wood would warp so I used shorter peices. I tired to keep them partly buried to keep them in place. I used a half-lap joint between sections. they stayed where i put them pretty well, though the ground under them moved up or down.
keeping the track looking nice and ballasted was not easy with that system either. if you glue "ballast" to the surface of your boards to "paint them" with a more natural looking surface than attatch the track over that you might have good success, though I am not sure what to use as "adhesive"
My wood road bed sytems were in Connecticut and my floating ballast system is in Maine. both get their share of frost, rain and drought.
--Eric
Winnegance and Quebec Railway
Eric Schade Gen'l Manager
I am just starting out and my wife suggested using cement board. Based on the form posts I'm going with it. I like 411 gravel for the sub roadbed. From my use in home remodeling I noticed how fragile the board is and was thinking of suporting it underneath with narrow strips of board or pressure treated wood.
I use gray concret bricks for road bed then balist my track, this works well where I live.
Dave
The head is gray, hands don't work , back is weak, legs give out, eyes are gone, money go's and my wife still love's Me.
Greg,
I ordered some air operators from the guy you recommended last year. I bugged him about once a month and he kept saying nothing was available. A year later and still nothing received. Any other ideas on when to get the air operators and air tubing etc?
Thanks,
Rex
Yes, try Sunset Valley Railroad, they have a complete line now. Also in this month's GR, there is an ad from an outfit that also has a different type of air cylinder. I'll get the info, something like gpps.com...
The "newcomer" is http://www.gardenrailroadproducts.com/scripts/default.asp
I have no feedback on their products yet. They claim that the outside won't oxidize like brass.
Brass may oxidize, but the aluminum will corrode. I would take brass over aluminum when sitting on the ground or getting wet.
I'm near the ocean, aluminum will dissolve in salt air.
But, we need feedback on the quality and how well the stuff works.
Prices are OK, not great (although the site implies they are great).
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